The Island Bear B&B
Location: SHORE STREET, Islay Island, Scotland, PA43 7LB, Islay Island, GB
Star Rating: 3 Stars
Property Type: Bed and breakfasts
About this Property
Charming Bed & Breakfast Integration
Experience a delightful stay at The Island Bear B&B, a charming bed & breakfast nestled in Islay Island. Enjoy a complimentary full breakfast and unwind in cozy guestrooms with modern amenities.
Modern Comforts and Connectivity
Relax in style as you watch your favorite shows on flat-screen televisions and stay connected with complimentary wireless internet access. The private bathrooms offer a luxurious touch with complimentary toiletries and hair dryers.
Convenient Location, Memorable Experience
Conveniently located near popular attractions like Bowmore Distillery and Islay Ales, The Island Bear B&B offers the perfect blend of comfort and convenience for your Islay Island getaway. Book now for a memorable experience!
Important Information
- Reservations are required for golf tee times. Reservations can be made by contacting the bed & breakfast prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation.
- One child stays free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding.
- Cashless payment methods are available for all transactions.
- Contactless check-in and contactless check-out are available.
- This property welcomes guests of all sexual orientations and gender identities (LGBTQ+ friendly).
Policies
Check-in: 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Check-out: 10:00 AM
Instructions: There is no front desk at this property. To make arrangements for check-in please contact the property ahead of time using the information on the booking confirmation. If you are planning to arrive after 6 PM please contact the property in advance using the information on the booking confirmation. Guests must contact the property in advance for check-in instructions. The host will greet guests on arrival.
Amenities & Facilities
- Free breakfast
- Free WiFi
- Wheelchair accessible
- Free breakfast
- Smoke-free property
- Free full breakfast
- Tasting room
- Public winery tours
Rooms Available
-
Twin Room
2 Twin Beds
Individually decorated room
Internet - Free WiFi
Entertainment - Flat-screen TV
Food & Drink - Electric kettle and free tea bags/instant coffee
Sleep - Premium bedding and bed sheets
Bathroom - Private bathroom, shower/tub combination, free toiletries, and a hair dryer
Practical - Iron/ironing board (on request)
Accessibility - Accessible bathtub
Need to Know - Housekeeping on request
Non-Smoking
Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)
- Hair dryer
- Private bathroom
- Electric kettle
- Daily housekeeping
- Hypo-allergenic bedding available
- Premium bedding
- Free WiFi
- Bedsheets provided
- Free tea bags/instant coffee
- Accessible bathtub
-
Double Room
1 Double Bed
Individually decorated room
Layout - Bedroom
Internet - Free WiFi
Entertainment - Flat-screen TV
Food & Drink - Electric kettle and free tea bags/instant coffee
Sleep - Premium bedding and bed sheets
Bathroom - Private bathroom, shower/tub combination, free toiletries, and a hair dryer
Practical - Iron/ironing board (on request)
Accessibility - Accessible bathtub
Need to Know - Housekeeping on request
Non-Smoking
Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)
- Hair dryer
- Private bathroom
- Electric kettle
- Daily housekeeping
- Hypo-allergenic bedding available
- Premium bedding
- Free WiFi
- Bedsheets provided
- Free tea bags/instant coffee
- Accessible bathtub
Guest Reviews
- Kevin (10/5): - The Island Bear is a wonderful place to base a trip to Islay. It is situated at the center of town in Bowmore. The owners are very attentive and nice to talk with. The rooms are modern and very clean. Highly recommend!
- Jane (10/5): Great B&B - Good breakfast cooked to order. Great location. Sea view.
- Christian (10/5): - Schönes B&B gut gelegen in Bowmore. Sehr gutes Frühstück. Gute Lage in der Nähe der Bowmore Distillery. Nette Hosts.
- Verified traveler (8/5): - Staff friendly and interested in what we'd done during the day. Towels not changed or room serviced during 3 night stay. Breakfast available after 8, limited time slots.
- Teresa (10/5): Small but Clean and Personable - Fiona, Duncan and Filip were great hosts. The breakfast was excellent. Having a fan in the room would be a plus. The B &B was close to many of the distilleries. Getting on and off the Ferry was easy.
- Garry (10/5): - Very friendly staff,nice breakfast walking distance to pubs , shopping and other convenient facilities. Comprehensive local information provided in room. Nice relaxation area
- Georg (10/5): - Really friendly owners, a clean and spacious room. Parking was no problem, close to the Bowmore distillery. Got a fully cooked Scottish breakfast, tasty! Weather wasn‘t so friendly, but hey: It‘s Scotland! Enjoyed my stay and hopefully will come back again.
- Hybre (10/5): - Fiona and Duncan is friendly and helpful and provided a great breakfast every morning. The hotel was quiet and conveniently located a street from the ocean and and across the road from the Bowmore distillery with good restaurants nearby. Very comfortable beds and clean facilities.
- John (8/5): Central location for exploring Islay and Jura. - Great place to stay in the middle of Islay’s largest village. Friendly and helpful staff.
- Michael (10/5): - Very kind owners, easy check in and check out. Delicious home made breakfast in the morning. The room/bathroom was comfortable and homely. Location (in Bowmore) is ideal as a central location on Islay, and you have access to bus services.
- Stephen (10/5): - Mr Duncan and Miss Fiona are excellent hosts. A stones throw from Bowmore Distillery, and centrally located in Bowmore town. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience!
- Russell (10/5): - The Island Bear was amazing, Fiona was a great hostess!
- Elizabeth (10/5): - Property location is great for touring the Island, also central for walking around Bowmore. The room was spacious and clean. Breakfast was good with plenty on offer. Fiona and Duncan are very friendly and helpful.
- Hideki (8/5): - The room was very clean and tidy. Unfortunately, there is no refrigerator.
- Kathleen (10/5): - An excellent bnb! It was extremely clean. The bed was comfy, the room was spacious enough, and the bathroom was updated. Duncan and Fiona went out of their way to explain a lot of local history and met our every need. The breakfast was one of the most generous we encountered in Scotland.
- Joanne (10/5): - Duncan and Fiona were fantastic hosts so welcoming they recommended some lovely places to eat.The B&B was spotless extremely comfortable bed and a great breakfast. Could not have asked for more.
- Karen (10/5): - Very clean, modern and spacious and at a good price. Great value for money.
- Chi Leung (10/5): - Convenient location
- Adam (10/5): Best place to stay on Islay - The location was perfect right in the heart of Bowmore with a wonderful view. Fiona and Duncan were wonderful hosts with excellent food, wit, and charm. The room was spacious and clean with everything we could have needed.
- Irakli (10/5): - Very cosy place, wonderful people
- ? (8/5): - verygood
- Josh (10/5): - Fiona and Duncan are a ton of fun, and they make sure you're well-fed to start the day and have great local advice on how to get around Islay, especially on Sundays when the bus doesn't run. Definitely can't go wrong a The Island Bear, and the rooms are great
- stephen (10/5): - Enjoyed a couple of days staying here. Rooms were very comfortable and clean. Nice breakfast.
- Diane (10/5): - Hostess was so friendly and helpful! The room was lovely and had a great bathtub. View was beautiful from the room. Breakfast was great!
- Michelle (10/5): An absolute gem with a lovely host! - We were in Islay on a whisky tour for 3 nights and absolutely loved this little three-room B&B run by Islay local, Fiona. The room was surprisingly spacious. The bed was comfy. There was a lovely view of the water. It was right on the main road in Bowmore. And breakfast was made to order each morning, and served by Fiona herself - along with lovely conversation and local tips. I cannot say enough wonderful things about The Island Bear!
- Lori (10/5): - Fantastic place to stay in Bowmore. Great location, easy parking and not far from anything on Islay. The room was large and very clean. The bed was comfortable and the shower had good water pressure. Fiona, the owner, was fab! She was very friendly, welcoming and helpful! She also makes a great breakfast!
- Mary (10/5): - Excellent location, very friendly, good breakfasts and lots of help with suggestions for things to do.
- Martin (8/5): Klein, gemütlich, schön - Wir wurden sehr freundlich empfangen und auch das Zimmer war sauber und zweckmässig eingerichtet. Die Lage ist sehr gut, mitten im Zentrum von Bowmore. Frühstück gibts auf Wunsch und wird frisch zubereitet. Alles in allem ein kleines, gemütliches B&B gut gelegen für Ausflüge auf der Insel Islay.
- Frank (10/5): - Kurz und knapp: es gab nichts zu bemängeln.
- Hayley (10/5): - We spent 3 nights at the Island Bear and it was wonderful. Duncan and Fiona were excellent hosts and helped us when we needed to make a change and bring our son with us. The room was lovely, comfortable and the breakfasts were fantastic. We’ll recommend staying here to everyone that we know traveling to Islay
- Mary (10/5): - Room was very clean, checkin was convenient, bed was comfortable, and the location was perfect. We had a nice view of the water from our room. Hosts Fiona and Duncan were very kind and helpful. Couldn’t ask for more!
- Catherine (10/5): - Lovely spot in the middle of town, great views from my bedroom window. And Fiona was the perfect host, cooking up a delicious Scottish breakfast!
- Jackalyn (10/5): - An absolutely lovely stay on Islay! Duncan and Fiona are incredibly kind, and their bed and breakfast is wonderful. The rooms have a cozy feel, while still being really spacious if you’ve brought large luggage. I can’t wait to go back!
- Luis Cesar (8/5): Fiona and David great hosts confortable room - Cozy decently sized room with comfortable bed. Fiona and David are very friendly and supportive. Location is great very close to Bowmore Distillery. Breakfast is made-to-order abd very tasty. Would definitely revommend and stay again on my next trip to Islay.
- William (10/5): Perfect hosts - If you're already looking at the Island Bear for your trip to Islay then I suggest you just go ahead and book it if you can. This is a spotless, modern looking B&B right in the heart of Bowmore. I doubt it took us 5 minutes to walk anywhere in the village with all the restaurants and shops extremely close by. Really comfy bed, great shower/bath and nothing lacking in terms of facilities. What makes this B&B though are the hosts, Fiona and Duncan. We only ever really had the pleasure of speaking to them during breakfast but it made a great start to our day as they both took a lot of time to chat to us and talk about Bowmore and the island in particular. They were able to answer any questions we had. As well as all that the breakfasts were superb and more than enough to fuel a morning's adventuring. There was a problem with the ferries while we were there and their willingness to go above and beyond to help us out if needed was so appreciated. Thank you to you both and we hope to see you again soon. Billy & Marjorie
- Malcolm (10/5): - Excellent BnB. Clean, modern with great service. The owners couldn’t do enough for us Can’t fault it
- Frances (10/5): - Amazing B&B, thoroughly enjoyed our stay.
- Verified traveler (10/5): - Lovely comfortable rooms. Great choice of breakfasts. Hosts were friendly and knowledgeable about the area - things to do, places to eat etc. Would love to go back!
- Andrew (10/5): Great stay and excellent base to discover Islay - Lovely modernised accommodation. Breakfast excellent and great hosts. It would appear Bowmore is the largest place on Islay with a few pubs and restaurants (better to book these as they can be busy) so this is a good base for touring the Island. If visiting the distilleries , buses are regular and go to most places over the island from here letting you enjoy even more.
- Colin (10/5): Islay paradise - Spotless, quiet room. Friendly and helpful hosts. Excellent location. Perfect "chill out" home from home.
- Verified traveler (8/5): Recommended - Very enjoyable. Nice breakfast and great hosts
- TOMOYA (10/5): - Comfortable room and honest services. I enjoyed staying here. I’ll be back some day.
- Richard (10/5): Fab - Great couple of days staying in Bowmore. Excellent Scottish breakfast every morning, Fiona was very helpful and always available when needed. Would definitely stay here again
- Katrina (10/5): - Great location! Our room was cozy and our hosts were kind and very welcoming. Excellent breakfast in the morning!! Highly recommended.
- Verified traveler (8/5): - Hausherr und Frau waren sehr launisch . Ansonsten war die Unterkunft sehr sauber und das Frühstück gut.
- Göran (10/5): Kanske min bästa boendeupplevelse någonsin! - Litet B&B med mycket fina och bekväma rum och ett fantastiskt värdpar.
- Verified traveler (10/5): - We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The room was immaculate, and the place is right around the corner from the main square with the bus stop and the pier. Also, Fiona makes great breakfast.
- John (10/5): - Charming B and B with great views of the water and a centralized location on the water. The owners were very friendly and helpful.
- Verified traveler (10/5): - This is a great place to stay, recently renovated with great care and style, the hosts are friendly, helpful and attentive. You will not regret staying here.
- Verified traveler (10/5): - We loved everything! The room was fantastic, Fiona and Duncan were great hosts and breakfast was brilliant!
- Lee D (10/5): Island bear July stay - Fiona and her husband ate such amazing hosts I totally had the best time
- Verified traveler (10/5): - Lovely rooms. Very convenient location in the middle of Bowmore. Owners were friendly and knowledgeable about the area.
- Verified traveler (10/5): Wonderful stay - Perfect location - steps away from restaurants and bars and easy to get around the island while based in Bowmore. Very comfortable and cosy room. Lovely hosts who had great recommendations for our time on Islay. Hope to stay here again.
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